LAPSE:2023.25354
Published Article
LAPSE:2023.25354
Preliminary Analysis of an Aged RPV Subjected to Station Blackout
March 28, 2023
Today, 46% of operating Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) have a lifetime between 31 and 40 years, while 19% have been in operation for more than 40 years. Long Term Operation (LTO) is an urgent requirement for all of the nuclear industry. The aim of this study is to assess the performance of a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) subjected to a station blackout (SBO) event. Alterations suffered by the material properties and creep at elevated temperatures are considered. In this study, coupling between MELCOR and Finite Element Method (FEM) codes is carried out. In the Finite Element (FE) model, the combined effects of ageing and creep are implemented through degraded material properties and a viscoplastic model. The reliability of the model is validated by comparing the FOREVER/C1 experimental results. The results show that the RPV lower head bends downwards with a maximum radial expansion of about 260 mm and RPV thermomechanical properties are reduced by more than 50% at high temperatures. The effects of ageing, creep and long heat-up strongly affect the resistance of the RPV system until the point of compromising it in the absence of/delayed emergency intervention. Aged RPV at end-of-life may collapse earlier, and in less time, with the same accidental conditions.
Keywords
ageing, creep, finite element, long-term operation, MELCOR, reactor pressure vessel, station blackout
Suggested Citation
Lo Frano R, Cancemi SA, Darnowski P, Ciolini R, Paci S. Preliminary Analysis of an Aged RPV Subjected to Station Blackout. (2023). LAPSE:2023.25354
Author Affiliations
Lo Frano R: Department of Industrial and Civil Engineering (DICI), University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy [ORCID]
Cancemi SA: Department of Industrial and Civil Engineering (DICI), University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy [ORCID]
Darnowski P: Institute of Heat Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Nowowiejska 21/25, 00-665 Warsaw, Poland [ORCID]
Ciolini R: Department of Industrial and Civil Engineering (DICI), University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Paci S: Department of Industrial and Civil Engineering (DICI), University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy [ORCID]
Journal Name
Energies
Volume
14
Issue
15
First Page
4394
Year
2021
Publication Date
2021-07-21
Published Version
ISSN
1996-1073
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Original Submission
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PII: en14154394, Publication Type: Journal Article
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LAPSE:2023.25354
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doi:10.3390/en14154394
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Mar 28, 2023
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